Sealed and thermally insulating tank comprising an angle bracket

ABSTRACT

Sealed and thermally insulating tank incorporated into a polyhedral bearing structure, a first bearing wall and a second bearing wall forming an edge corner, the tank having a first tank wall, a thermally insulating barrier and a sealed membrane, the tank further has an angle bracket with a first flange and a second flange in such a way that the angle bracket connects in a sealed manner. The sealed membrane of the first tank wall and the sealed membrane of the second tank wall in line with the edge corner, in which the angle bracket has a pair of first tabs and a pair of second tabs, the tank has a pair of first anchor rods coupled to a respective first tab and a pair of second anchor rods coupled to a respective second tab in such a way as to transmit a tensile load between the angle bracket.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to the field of sealed and thermally insulatingtanks. In particular, the invention relates to the field of sealed andthermally insulating tanks in the context of the storage ortransportation of low-temperature liquids, such as ship-borne tanks fortransporting Liquefied Petroleum Gas (also referred to as LPG) at, forexample, a temperature of between −50° C. and 0° C., or for transportingliquefied natural gas (LNG) at approximately −162° C. at atmosphericpressure.

TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

Liquefied gas tanks are known for example from document FR3008765. Thatdocument describes a methane tanker tank comprising a plurality oflongitudinal tank walls and a plurality of transverse tank walls. Eachwall of the tank comprises a double sealing membrane intercalated with adouble insulating barrier.

When the liquefied gas is being loaded and offloaded, the change intemperature imposes high thermal deformations and therefore stresses onthe sealed membranes of the tank. Likewise, during transport at sea, themovement of the liquefied gas in the tank applies strong forces to theinsulating barriers and the membranes of the tank. In order to avoidimpairment of the sealing of the tank, according to document FR3008765,the sealed membranes of the tank are anchored on the bearing structureusing anchoring couplers in the zone where the longitudinal walls meetthe transverse walls. The sealed membranes are connected to the couplerby composite beams fixed to an internal face of insulating boxstructures that form the thermally insulating barriers.

Document WO2017064413 describes a sealed and thermally insulatingstructure in particular for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In documentWO2017064413, anchor strips are fixed to insulating edging blocks duringprefabrication. The insulating edging blocks and the anchor stripsmounted together are then aligned along the edge corner duringfabrication of the tank in the bearing structure. The angle pieces ofthe membrane are welded on the anchor strips in a subsequent step.

SUMMARY

One idea underlying the invention is to have the tensile forces in thesealed membrane absorbed by couplers anchored on the bearing structurewithout applying high shear stresses to the elements that make up thethermally insulating barrier.

According to a mode of embodiment, the invention provides a sealed andthermally insulating tank incorporated into a polyhedral bearingstructure, a first bearing wall of the bearing structure and a secondbearing wall of the bearing structure forming an edge corner of thebearing structure, the tank comprising a first tank wall anchored on thefirst bearing wall and a second tank wall anchored on the second bearingwall, the tank walls comprising a thermally insulating barrier anchoredon the corresponding bearing wall and a sealed membrane borne by saidthermally insulating barrier.

According to a mode of embodiment, such a tank may comprise one or moreof the following features.

According to a mode of embodiment, the tank further comprises an anglebracket, the angle bracket comprising a first flange borne by thethermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall and a second flangeborne by the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall, anend portion of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall turned towardsthe edge corner being fixed in a sealed manner to the first flange ofthe angle bracket and an end portion of the sealed membrane of thesecond tank wall turned towards the edge corner being fixed in a sealedmanner to the second flange of the angle bracket in such a way that theangle bracket connects in a sealed manner the sealed membrane of thefirst tank wall and the sealed membrane of the second tank wall in linewith the edge corner,

the angle bracket comprising a pair of first tabs each projecting from arespective end portion of the first flange in the direction of the firstbearing wall and a pair of second tabs each projecting from a respectiveend portion of the second flange in the direction of the second bearingwall,

the tank further comprising a pair of first anchor rods each comprisinga first end and a second end opposite the first end, said first endbeing anchored to the second bearing wall and said second end beingcoupled to a respective first tab of the pair of first tabs, one,several or each of said first anchor rods extending from the secondbearing wall in the direction of the corresponding first tab in order totransmit a tensile load between the angle bracket and the second bearingwall and retain the angle bracket on the thermally insulating barrier,

the tank further comprising a pair of second anchor rods each comprisinga first end and a second end opposite the first end, said first endbeing anchored on the first bearing wall and said second end beingcoupled to a respective second tab of the pair of second tabs, one,several or each of said second anchor rods extending from the firstbearing wall in the direction of the corresponding second tab in orderto transmit a tensile load between the angle bracket and the firstbearing wall and retain the angle bracket on the thermally insulatingbarrier.

By virtue of these features, the same angle bracket connects in a sealedmanner the sealed membranes of two tank walls while being coupled toeach of the bearing walls bearing said tank walls. Such an angle bracketdirectly coupled to the bearing walls thus prevents stresses on thesealed membrane passing through the edging blocks on which it lies.Furthermore, since such an angle bracket is directly coupled to the twobearing walls forming the edge corner of the bearing wall, it may becorrectly kept in position in the tank in relation to each of saidbearing walls, and this angle bracket therefore does not need to befixed onto the edging blocks other than by the anchor rods and cansimply lie on said edging blocks. Such an angle bracket simply lying onthe edging blocks under the action of the anchor rods makes it possibleto limit workshop prefabrication and does not require any other step offixing, for example by riveting, of the angle brackets on the edgingblocks.

By virtue of these features, the angle bracket has good rigidityfacilitating its placement on the edging blocks. Furthermore, suchrigidity makes it possible to increase the levels of mechanical stresspassing through the angle brackets.

According to a mode of embodiment, one said or each first tab projectsfrom a lower face of the first flange facing the first bearing wall at adistance from a lateral edge of the first flange of the angle bracketforming one end of the first flange, and one said or each second tabprojects from a lower face of the second flange facing the secondbearing wall at a distance from a lateral edge of the second flange ofthe angle bracket forming one end of the second flange.

By virtue of these features, the lateral edge of the first flange mayextend beyond the tab and therefore approach an adjacent element, forexample the edge facing an adjacent angle bracket. Thus the spaceseparating two adjacent angle brackets may be limited to facilitateproducing a sealed connection along the edge corner between saidadjacent angle brackets while also forming a sufficient space to allowan anchor rod to pass into this zone.

According to a mode of embodiment, a longitudinal edge of the firstflange parallel to the edge corner projects beyond the first tabs in adirection perpendicular to the second bearing wall in such a way thatsaid longitudinal edge of the first flange is further from the secondbearing wall that said first tabs in said direction perpendicular to thesecond bearing wall, and/or a longitudinal edge of the second flangeparallel to the edge corner projects beyond the second tabs in adirection perpendicular to the first bearing wall in such a way thatsaid longitudinal edge of the second flange is further from the firstbearing wall than said second tabs in said direction perpendicular tothe first bearing wall.

By virtue of these features, the available surface area on the flange ofthe angle bracket for welding the sealed membrane may be enlarged andmounting tolerances can be managed more easily.

According to a mode of embodiment, the thermally insulating barrier ofthe first tank wall forms a first support surface on which the sealedmembrane of the first tank wall lies, and the thermally insulatingbarrier of the first tank wall forms a first milling arranged at one endof the first support surface turned towards the edge corner, the firstflange of the angle bracket being housed in said first milling in such away that an upper face of the first flange of the angle bracket is flushwith the first support surface; and the thermally insulating barrier ofthe second tank wall forms a second milling arranged at one end of thesecond support surface turned towards the edge corner, the second flangeof the angle bracket being housed in said second milling in such a waythat an upper face of the second flange of the angle bracket is flushwith the second support surface.

By virtue of these features, the angle bracket and the thermallyinsulating barriers of the tank walls together form substantially planarand uniform surfaces for receiving the sealed membranes of said tankwalls.

Such an angle bracket may be formed with different lengths. According toa mode of embodiment, the tank comprises a row of angle bracketsjuxtaposed and connected in a sealed manner in pairs along the edgecorner.

According to a mode of embodiment, several, certain or all of the anglebrackets in the row of angle brackets comprise a first flange borne bythe thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall and a secondflange borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the second tankwall, an end portion of the sealed membrane of the first tank wallturned towards the edge corner being fixed in a sealed manner to thefirst flange of said angle brackets and an end portion of the sealedmembrane of the second tank wall turned towards the edge corner beingfixed in a sealed manner to said second flange of said angle brackets insuch a way that said, several, certain or all of the angle brackets inthe row connect in a sealed manner the sealed membrane of the first tankwall and the sealed membrane of the second tank wall in line with theedge corner,

one, several or each of said angle brackets further comprising a pair offirst tabs each projecting from a respective end portion of the firstflange of said angle bracket in the direction of the first bearing walland a pair of second tabs each projecting from a respective end portionof the second flange of said angle bracket in the direction of thesecond bearing wall,the tank comprising a row of first anchor rods each comprising a firstend and a second end opposite the first end, a plurality of first anchorrods in the row of first anchor rods having a said first end anchored tothe second bearing wall and a said second end coupled to at least onefirst tab of at least one angle bracket in the row of angle brackets,said first anchor rods extending from the second bearing wall in thedirection of said at least one first tab in order to transmit a tensileload between said at least one angle bracket and the second bearing walland retain said at least one angle bracket on the thermally insulatingbarrier,the tank further comprising a row of second anchor rods each comprisinga first end and a second end opposite the first end, a plurality ofsecond anchor rods in the row of second anchor rods having a said firstend anchored on the first bearing wall and a said second end beingcoupled to at least one second tab of at least one angle bracket in therow of angle brackets, said second anchor rods extending from the firstbearing wall in the direction of said at least one second tab in orderto transmit a tensile load between said at least one angle bracket andthe first bearing wall and retain said at least one angle bracket on thethermally insulating barrier.

According to a mode of embodiment, the second end of one said anchor rodis jointly coupled to two anchor tabs belonging to two adjacent anglebrackets in said row of angle brackets to retain said two adjacent anglebrackets on the thermally insulating barrier. Such an arrangement may beemployed for one, several or all of the first anchor rods and/or forone, several or all of the second anchor rods. This arrangement makes itpossible to use the anchor rod jointly for anchoring two angle brackets,which limits the number of anchor rods to be installed and thecorresponding space occupied thereby.

According to a mode of embodiment, the thermally insulating barrier ofthe first tank wall comprises a row of first edging blocks anchored onthe first bearing wall and juxtaposed along the edge corner, at leasttwo of said first edging blocks each comprising a groove formed in thethickness of the first edging block from an upper face of the firstedging block in such a way as to form a space accessible from the secondbearing wall in the first edging block, the anchor rods of said pair offirst anchor rods being housed in the grooves of the two first edgingblocks, the first flange of the angle bracket being disposed overlappingsaid two first edging blocks in such a way that the first tabs of saidangle bracket project into said grooves of the two edging blocks.

Such an insulating block may be formed in different ways and withdifferent materials, notably in the form of blocks of insulating foam,for example polyurethane foam, or in the form of box structures filledwith an insulating filling. According to a corresponding mode ofembodiment, at least one of the first edging blocks comprises:

a bottom panel which is rectangular overall,

a cover panel which is rectangular overall disposed parallel to thebottom panel plumb with the bottom panel,

spacer elements, disposed between the bottom panel and the cover paneland extending in a thickness direction of the edging block between thebottom panel and the cover panel in such a way as to keep the coverpanel at a distance from the bottom panel,

an insulating filling disposed between the bottom panel and the coverpanel and between the spacer elements, in such a way as to fill aninternal space of the edging block,

in which the cover panel has at least one cut-out opening on atransverse edge of the cover panel facing the second bearing wall at aposition located between two longitudinal edges of the cover panel, atransverse side of the edging block facing the second bearing wallcomprising at least one opening located in line with said at least onecut-out,the spacer elements and the insulating filling being disposed in such away as to form a free space under said at least one cut-out of the coverpanel and in line with said at least one opening on the transverse sideof the edging block, said free space forming the groove formed in thethickness of said edging block. According to a mode of embodiment, theor each groove of the edging block may be formed using this structurecomprising a cut-out in the cover panel and an opening on the side ofthe edging block. The insulating filling may be made of differentmaterials, for example glass or rock wool, perlite, polymer foam, etc.

According to a mode of embodiment, the thermally insulating barrier ofthe second tank wall comprises a row of second edging blocks anchored onthe second bearing wall and juxtaposed along the edge corner, at leasttwo of said second edging blocks each comprising a groove formed in thethickness of the second edging block from an upper face of the secondedging block in such a way as to form a space accessible from the firstbearing wall in the second edging block, the anchor rods of said pair ofsecond anchor rods being housed in the grooves of the two second edgingblocks, the second flange of one angle bracket being disposedoverlapping the two second edging blocks in such a way that the secondtabs of said angle bracket project into said grooves of the two secondedging blocks.

By virtue of these features, the anchor rods are not housed between theedging blocks. The distance between two adjacent edging blocks can thusbe limited.

By virtue of these features, sealing of the sealed membrane is ensuredin a corner of the tank.

The angle bracket may be formed in different ways, preferably from ametallic material.

According to a mode of embodiment, the flanges and the tabs of the anglebracket are attached to one another or formed from a single element insuch a way that the angle bracket is one-piece. By one-piece, it ismeant that the angle bracket is a single part or a plurality of partswhich are pre-assembled for example by welding. According to a mode ofembodiment, one angle bracket is made up of two anchor strips disposedrespectively either side of the edge corner and of one or more anglepieces attached on the anchor strips in order to connect them in asealed manner in line with the edge corner. Other modes of embodimentemploying anchor strips are described below.

According to a mode of embodiment, the thermally insulating barrier of afirst tank wall comprises a row of edging blocks anchored on the firstbearing wall and juxtaposed along the edge corner in such a way as toform a support surface parallel to the first bearing wall,

the tank comprising a row of anchor strips extending parallel to theedge corner, said anchor strips being borne by the first support surfaceand anchored to the second bearing wall by a row of anchor rods, one,several or each of said anchor rods comprising a first end anchored tothe second bearing wall and a second end coupled to the row of anchorstrips in order to transmit a tensile load between the row of anchorstrips and the second bearing wall, an end portion of the sealedmembrane of the first tank wall turned towards the edge corner beingfixed in a sealed manner on said row of anchor strips,a first and a second of said edging blocks each comprising a grooveformed in the thickness of said edging block from an upper face of saidedging block in such a way as to form a space accessible from the secondbearing wall in the edging block, a first and a second of said anchorrods being housed respectively in the groove of the first and of thesecond edging block,an anchor strip in the row of anchor strips is supported overlapping thefirst edging block and the second edging block, said anchor stripcomprising a first tab and a second tab projecting respectively from twoopposite end portions of the anchor strip in the direction of the firstbearing wall, the first and second tabs being engaged respectively inthe groove of the first edging block and of the second edging block andbeing respectively coupled to the first anchor rod and to the secondanchor rod.

Such a tank in which the tabs of the anchor strip are housed in thegrooves of the edging blocks does not require adaptation of the spacebetween said edging blocks in order to house said anchor rods therein.It is thus possible to reduce the spacing between said edging blocks.The reduction in the space between two adjacent edging blocks may leadto a reduction in the insulation to be placed between said edging blocksand therefore a simplification of the industrial application and alimitation of industrial risk in the positioning.

Furthermore, the arrangement of the anchor rods in the grooves may offergreater freedom in positioning of the couplers allowing anchoring of theedging blocks on the bearing walls.

In some modes of embodiment, some or all of the edging blocks maycomprise a groove formed in the thickness of said edging block from anupper face of said edging block such as to form a space accessible fromthe second bearing wall in the edging block, in such a way that all ofsaid anchor rods or a majority of the latter are housed in said grooves.

According to a mode of embodiment, said first and second edging blockshave an equal length taken in a direction parallel to the edge corner,and the anchor strip supported overlapping the first edging block andthe second edging block has a length taken in the direction parallel tothe edge corner which is less than said length of the edging blocks.

According to a mode of embodiment, the groove of the first edging blockconstitutes a first groove, the first edging block further comprising asecond groove formed in the thickness of said first edging block fromthe upper face of said edging block and spaced apart from the firstgroove along the edge corner in such a way as to form a second spaceaccessible from the second bearing wall, a third of the anchor rodsbeing housed in the second groove of said edging block,

one anchor strip in the row of anchor strips is disposed only on thefirst edging block, said anchor strip comprising a first tab and asecond tab projecting respectively from two opposite end portions of theanchor strip in the direction of the first bearing wall, the first andsecond tabs being engaged respectively in the first and second groovesof the first edging block and being respectively coupled to the firstanchor rod and to the third anchor rod.

In some modes of embodiment, some or all of the edging blocks maycomprise two grooves spaced apart from one another along the edgecorner, one, several or each of said grooves accommodating one of saidanchor rods.

In some modes of embodiment, the row of anchor strips and/or of anglebrackets may comprise only anchor strips and/or angle brackets disposedoverlapping several edging blocks or a combination of anchor stripsand/or of angle brackets disposed overlapping several edging blocks andof anchor strips and/or of angle brackets disposed on only one edgingblock. These two arrangements of the anchor strips and/or of the anglebrackets may be combined in different proportions. The row of anchorstrips and/or of angle brackets may be made up of identical or differentanchor strips and/or angle brackets and the row of edging blocks may bemade up of identical or different edging blocks. In a mode ofembodiment, the anchor strips and/or the angle brackets have a uniformlength.

In a mode of embodiment, the edging blocks have a uniform length. Inthis case, the uniform length of the anchor strips and/or of the anglebrackets may be a whole fraction or an integer multiple of the uniformlength of the edging blocks. For example, in a mode of embodiment inwhich the uniform length of the anchor strips and/or of the anglebrackets is half of the uniform length of the edging blocks, the anchorstrips and/or the angle brackets are alternately disposed on only oneedging block or overlapping several edging blocks. In a mode ofembodiment, one anchor strip and/or one angle bracket may also overlapmore than two edging blocks.

According to a mode of embodiment, the thermally insulating barrier ofone second tank wall comprises a second row of edging blocks anchored onthe second bearing wall and juxtaposed along the edge corner in such away as to form a second support surface parallel to the second bearingwall,

the tank comprising a second row of anchor strips extending parallel tothe edge corner, said anchor strips being borne by the second supportsurface and anchored to the first bearing wall by a second row of anchorrods, one, several or each of said anchor rods comprising a first endanchored to the first bearing wall and a second end coupled to thesecond row of anchor strips in order to transmit a tensile load betweenthe second row of anchor strips and the first bearing wall, an endportion of the sealed membrane of the second tank wall turned towardsthe edge corner being fixed in a sealed manner on said second row ofanchor strips,a first and a second of said edging blocks in the second row eachcomprising a groove formed in the thickness of said edging block from anupper face of said edging block in such a way as to form a spaceaccessible from the first bearing wall in the edging block, a first anda second of said anchor rods in the second row being housed respectivelyin the groove of the first and of the second edging block in the secondrow,one anchor strip in the second row of anchor strips is supportedoverlapping the first edging block and the second edging block in thesecond row, said anchor strip comprising a first tab and a second tabrespectively projecting from two opposite end portions of the anchorstrip in the direction of the second bearing wall, the first and secondtabs being engaged respectively in the groove of the first edging blockand of the second edging block in the second row and being respectivelycoupled to the first anchor rod and to the second anchor rod in thesecond row.

According to a mode of embodiment, the grooves of the first and secondedging blocks in the row of edging blocks of the first tank wall arelocated in front of the grooves of the first and second edging blocks inthe second row of edging blocks in line with the edge corner, in such away that the first anchor rod and the second anchor rod anchored to thefirst bearing wall respectively intersect the first anchor rod and thesecond anchor rod anchored to the second bearing wall.

According to a mode of embodiment, the tank further comprises anglepieces disposed on the edging blocks of the first tank wall and of thesecond tank wall, the angle pieces comprise two planar portions locatedin the planes of the sealed membrane of the first and second tank walls,said planar portions of said angle pieces being fixed in a sealed mannerto at least one metal strip in the row of metal strips in such a way asto connect in a sealed manner the sealed membrane of the first tank walland the sealed membrane of the second tank wall.

The angle pieces fixed in a sealed manner on the metal strips thusfulfil the same function as the angle bracket above and make it possibleto connect in a sealed manner the sealed membranes of the two tankwalls. Consequently, according to a mode of embodiment, an angle bracketand an assembly formed by one or more angle pieces fixed in a sealedmanner on metal strips may be substituted one with the other, forexample over part or all of an edge corner of the tank. The modes ofembodiment of angle brackets may also be used in combination along anedge corner for example in an alternating manner, etc.

According to a mode of embodiment, the bearing structure comprises athird bearing wall on which is anchored the thermally insulating barrierof a third tank wall, said third tank wall comprising a sealed membranelying on the thermally insulating barrier of said third tank wall, thethird bearing wall forming with the first bearing wall and the secondbearing wall a corner of the bearing structure located at one end ofsaid edge corner,

the tank comprising a sealed corner piece comprising a first flangelying on the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall, asecond flange lying on the thermally insulating barrier of the secondtank wall and a third flange lying on the thermally insulating barrierof the third tank wall.

According to a mode of embodiment, the thermally insulating barrier ofeach of the first, second and third tank walls comprises a respectivecorner insulating block, said corner insulating blocks being joined inline with the corner of the bearing structure.

According to a mode of embodiment, the corner piece is adjacent to alast angle bracket or a last anchor strip in the row of angle bracketsand/or of anchor strips, the first flange of the last angle bracket oranchor strip being connected in a sealed manner to the first flange ofthe corner piece and the second flange of the last angle bracket oranchor strip being connected in a sealed manner to the second flange ofthe corner piece.

According to a mode of embodiment, the corner insulating block of thefirst tank wall comprises a groove formed in the thickness of saidcorner insulating block of the first tank wall from an upper face ofsaid corner insulating block of the first tank wall in such a way as toform a space accessible from the second bearing wall in said cornerinsulating block,

the corner insulating block of the second tank wall comprising a grooveformed in the thickness of said corner insulating block of the secondtank wall from an upper face of said corner insulating block of thesecond tank wall in such a way as to form a space accessible from thefirst bearing wall in said corner insulating block.

According to a mode of embodiment, a last angle bracket or anchor striplocated at the end of the row of angle brackets and/or anchor strips ofthe first tank wall is disposed overlapping an edging block and thecorner insulating block of the first tank wall, said end angle bracketor anchor strip comprising a tab projecting into the groove of saidcorner insulating block of the first tank wall and being coupled to alast anchor rod located at the end of the row of anchor rods in order totransmit a tensile load between said angle bracket or anchor strip andthe second bearing wall,

According to a mode of embodiment, a last angle bracket or anchor striplocated at the end of the second row of angle brackets and/or anchorstrips of the second tank wall is disposed overlapping an edging blockand the corner insulating block of the second tank wall, said end anglebracket or anchor strip comprising a tab projecting into the groove ofsaid corner insulating block of the first tank wall and being coupled toa last anchor rod located at the end of the row of anchor rods in orderto transmit a tensile load between said angle bracket or anchor stripand the first bearing wall.

According to a mode of embodiment, the tank further comprises a corneranchor rod having a first end anchored on the bearing structure in thecorner of the bearing structure and a second end attached to the cornerpiece in order to transmit a tensile load between the corner piece andthe bearing structure and retain the corner piece on the thermallyinsulating barriers of the first, second and third tank walls, saidcorner anchor rod extending in a central direction of the solid angleformed by the corner of the bearing structure and being attached to acentral zone of the corner piece located at the point of connectionbetween the first, second and third flanges of the corner piece.

According to a mode of embodiment, the corner piece comprises a hollowcylindrical base which is open in the central zone of the corner piece,said base having a perforated bottom, the second end of the corneranchor rod passing through the perforated bottom and being housed insaid hollow base in such a way as to retain said base on the bearingstructure, a metal corner plate being fixed in a sealed manner on thecorner piece in such a way as to block in a sealed manner the opening ofthe base. Coupling of the corner piece with the corner anchor rod isthus simple to achieve through the opening of the base while maintainingsealing of the corner piece by means of the metal corner plate.

According to a mode of embodiment, the last angle bracket comprises, atone end of the first flange connected in a sealed manner to the firstflange of the corner piece, a third tab, a last first anchor rod in therow of first anchor rods being coupled to one of the tabs of the pair oftabs of the first flange located at said end of said first flange and tosaid third tab, and in which the last angle bracket comprises, at oneend of the second flange connected in a sealed manner to the secondflange of the corner piece, a fourth tab, a last second anchor rod inthe row of second anchor rods being coupled to one of the tabs of thepair of tabs of the second flange located at said end of said flange andto said fourth tab.

Such a tank may form part of an onshore storage facility, for examplefor storing LPG or may be installed in an inshore or deep-water floatingstructure, notably a methane tanker, a floating storage andregasification unit (FSRU), a floating production storage and offloading(FPSO) unit, or the like.

According to a mode of embodiment, the invention also provides a shipfor transporting a cold liquid product, the ship comprising a doublehull and an abovementioned tank disposed in the double hull.

According to a mode of embodiment, the invention also provides a methodfor loading or offloading such a ship, in which a cold liquid product isconveyed through insulated pipelines from or to a floating or onshorestorage facility to or from the tank of the ship.

According to a mode of embodiment, the invention also provides a systemfor transferring a cold liquid product, the system comprising theabovementioned ship, insulated pipelines arranged in such a way as toconnect the tank installed in the hull of the ship to a floating oronshore storage facility and a pump for causing a cold liquid product toflow through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or onshorestorage facility to or from the tank of the ship.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood, and other objects, details,features and advantages thereof will become more clearly apparent duringthe course of the following description of a number of particular modesof embodiment of the invention which are given solely by way ofnonlimiting illustration with reference to the appended drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sealed and thermallyinsulating tank in relation to an angle of 90° formed by two walls ofsaid tank in which the sealing membrane of one of the tank walls is notdepicted;

FIG. 2 is a detail view of the sealed and thermally insulating tank inFIG. 1 illustrating a plurality of edging insulating elements and anglebrackets at said angle of the tank;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an edging insulating elementin FIG. 2 in which the cover panel is not depicted;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the edging insulating elementin FIG. 3 illustrating the cover panel of said edging insulatingelement;

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an angle bracket;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a corner structure at thepoint of connection of three walls of the tank in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view from below of the angle piece inFIG. 6 forming the sealed membrane corner;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of an end angle bracket in therow of angle brackets intended to collaborate with a corner insulatingelement;

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of an edging insulating elementaccording to a variant embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a barrier of a longitudinal wall of a sealedand thermally insulating tank at one edge corner with a transverse wallof the tank in which the sealed membrane is not illustrated so as toshow the collaboration of the anchor strips with the anchor rods in thisvariant embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a schematic cutaway depiction of a tank of a methane tankerand of a terminal for loading/offloading this tank.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MODE OF EMBODIMENT

The drawings are described hereafter in the context of a bearingstructure formed by the internal walls of a double hull of a ship fortransporting liquefied gas. Such a bearing structure has a polyhedralgeometry, for example a prismatic shape. Such a bearing structurecomprises for example longitudinal walls extending parallel to thelongitudinal direction of the ship and forming a polygonal cross sectionin a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ship.These longitudinal walls meet at longitudinal edge corners, which formfor example angles of the order of 135° in an octagonal geometry. Thegeneral structure of such polyhedral tanks is for example described inrelation to FIG. 1 of document FR3008765.

These longitudinal walls are interrupted in the longitudinal directionof the ship by transverse bearing walls which are perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of the ship. The longitudinal walls and thetransverse walls meet at front and rear edge corners.

Each wall of the bearing structure bears a respective tank wall. Each ofthe tank walls comprises at least one thermally insulating barrierbearing a sealing membrane in contact with a fluid stored in the tanksuch as liquefied natural gas (LNG), or liquefied petroleum gascomprising butane, propane or propene, etc.

By convention, the adjective “upper” applied to an element of the tankdenotes the part of that element oriented towards the interior of thetank and the adjective “lower” denotes the part of that element orientedtowards the outside of the tank, regardless of the orientation of thewall of the tank in relation to the earth's gravitational field.Likewise, the term “above” denotes a position located closer to theinterior of the tank and the term “below” denotes a position locatedcloser to the bearing structure, regardless of the orientation of thewall of the tank in relation to the earth's gravitational field.Furthermore, since the tank walls have a similar structure, thedescription of one element of one tank wall described hereinafterapplies by analogy to the other tank walls. The following description ofFIGS. 1 to 8 is thus given in the context of a 90° angle of the tank,but this description is equally applicable by analogy to tank angleshaving other configurations such as forming angles at 135°.

FIG. 1 illustrates a tank angle at an edge corner 1, front or rear,between a longitudinal bearing wall 2 and a transverse bearing wall 3 ofthe bearing structure forming an angle of the order of 90°. Alongitudinal tank wall is anchored on the longitudinal bearing wall 2and a transverse tank wall is anchored on the transverse bearing wall 3.

The thermally insulating barrier of the longitudinal tank wall is madeup of a plurality of insulating elements anchored on the wholelongitudinal bearing wall 2. These insulating elements together form aplanar surface on which the sealing membrane of the longitudinal tankwall is anchored. These insulating elements comprise a plurality ofuniversal insulating elements 4 juxtaposed in a regular rectangular gridpattern. The thermally insulating barrier of the longitudinal tank wallalso comprises a row of edging insulating elements 5 described below inrelation to FIGS. 3 and 4 , disposed along the edge corner 1. Theinsulating elements 4, 5 are anchored on the bearing structure by anysuitable means, such as for example using anchor members 6. Such anchormembers 6 may be formed in many ways and are for example described indocument WO2017064413.

The insulating elements 4, 5 lie on the longitudinal bearing wall 2 withthe interposition of mastic beads (not depicted) forming parallelstraight or undulating lines. A plurality of intermediary spaces 7separate into pairs the adjacent edging insulating elements 5. Theintermediary spaces 7 of two tank walls in line with the edge corner 1are preferably aligned as shown in FIG. 2 .

The sealing membrane of the longitudinal tank wall is made up of aplurality of metal sheets 8 juxtaposed with one another with overlap.These metal sheets 8 preferably have a rectangular shape. The metalsheets 8 are welded together in order to ensure sealing of the sealingmembrane. The metal sheets 8 are for example made of stainless steelwith a thickness of 1.2 mm.

In order to allow the sealing membrane to deform in response to thevarious stresses experienced by the tank, in particular in response tothe thermal contraction resulting from the loading of liquefied gas intothe tank, the metal sheets 8 have a plurality of corrugations orientedtowards the inside of the tank. More particularly, the sealing membraneof the tank wall comprises two series of perpendicular corrugationsforming a regular rectangular pattern. Preferably, the corrugationsextend parallel to the edges of the rectangular metal sheets 8.

In order to connect the sealed membrane of the longitudinal tank walland the sealed membrane of the transverse tank wall, the tank comprisesa row of metal angle brackets 9 arranged in line with the edge corner 1.These angle brackets 9 are aligned along the edge corner 1. These anglebrackets 9 are connected in a sealed manner in pairs along the edgecorner 1 in such a way as to ensure sealing of the sealed membrane inline with the edge corner 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the angle brackets 9 comprise a first flange10 and a second flange 11. Said first flange 10 extends parallel to thelongitudinal bearing wall 2. This first flange 10 lies on one or moreedging insulating elements 5 of the longitudinal tank wall. Likewise,the second flange 11 lies on one or more edging insulating elements 5 ofthe transverse tank wall and extends parallel to the transverse bearingwall 3. One end of the sealed membrane of the longitudinal tank wall isanchored in a sealed manner, for example by means of lap welding, on thefirst flanges 10 in the row of angle brackets 9. Likewise, one end ofthe sealed membrane of the transverse tank wall is anchored on thesecond flanges 11 in the row of angle brackets 9.

Furthermore, the angle bracket 9 is anchored on the bearing walls 2, 3forming the edge corner 1 by means of anchor rods 12 shown in FIG. 1 .Each of these anchor rods 12 comprises a first end anchored on arespective bearing wall 2, 3 and a second end coupled to twocorresponding adjacent angle brackets 9 via, for example, a respectivefastener 101 in order to transmit the tensile loads to which said anglebrackets 9 are subjected directly to said bearing wall. These anchorrods 12 extend parallel to the bearing wall on which they are notanchored forming the edge corner 1. In other words, the anchor rods 12anchored on the longitudinal bearing wall 2 extend parallel to thetransverse bearing wall 3 and vice versa. Such anchor rods 12 are forexample described in document WO2017064413 in relation to FIGS. 4 to 6,9, 14 and 16 .

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an edging insulating element 5 used to form the rowsof edging insulating elements 5 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . This edginginsulating element 5 is described in the context of an edging insulatingelement of a longitudinal wall at the edge corner 1, and its featurescan be applied by analogy to other edging insulating elements 5 of thetank.

The edging insulating element 5 comprises a bottom panel 13, side panelsand a cover panel 14. All of these panels have a rectangular shape andtogether define an internal space of the edging insulating element 5 inwhich an insulating filling 15 is housed. This insulating filling 15 ispreferably non-structural, for example perlite or glass wool.

The bottom panel 13 and the cover panel 14 extend parallel to oneanother and, as shown in FIG. 2 , parallel to the longitudinal bearingwall 2 on which they are anchored. The side panels extendperpendicularly to the bottom panel 13. The side panels connect thebottom panel 13 and the cover panel 14 in such a way as to form aninsulating box structure which has a parallelepiped shape overall.Bearing spacers 16 are disposed between the bottom panel 13 and thecover panel 14 in the internal space of the edging insulating element 5.The panels and the bearing spacers 16 are attached by any suitablemeans, for example clips, screws, nails or the like.

These bearing spacers 16 extend perpendicularly to the transversebearing wall 2 and perpendicularly to the longitudinal bearing wall 3forming the edge corner 1. These bearing spacers 16 are spaced in pairswith a regular pitch. Furthermore, longitudinal side panels 17 formingthe longitudinal edges of the edging insulating element 5 are arrangedparallel to the bearing spacers 16. These longitudinal side panels 17are spaced with the regular pitch of adjacent bearing spacers 16.

A first transverse side of the edging insulating element 5 facing theuniversal insulating elements 4 is formed by a first transverse sidepanel 18 extending parallel to the transverse bearing wall 2. This firsttransverse side panel 18 comprises through-orifices 19 intended to allowan inert gas to circulate in the thermally insulating barrier.

A second side of the edging insulating element 5 parallel to and facingthe transverse bearing wall 3 is formed by three unconnected plates 20.Each of these plates 20 extends parallel to the transverse wall 3.Furthermore, edges of these plates 20 are arranged in line with bearingspacers 16 or with longitudinal side panels in such a way as to lieflush with said bearing spacers 16 or said longitudinal side panels 17.The bearing spacers 16 in line with which two adjacent plates 20 arearranged are also adjacent, such that the plates 20 are separated inpairs with the regular pitch separating two adjacent bearing spacers 16.In other words, the second side of the edging insulating element 5 hastwo openings 21 defined by the plates 20 and corresponding to thespacing between two adjacent bearing spacers 16 in line with which theedges of said plates 20 are arranged.

The bottom panel 13 comprises rims 22 projecting from the longitudinalside panels 17 and from the first transverse side panel 18. Cleats 23are borne by the rims 22 and collaborate with anchor members 6 allowinganchoring of the edging insulating element 5 on the bearing wall. Suchrims 22, cleats 23 and anchor members 6 may be formed in many ways andare for example described in document WO2017064413.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the cleat 23 and the rim 22 on which said cleat 23lies may comprise in their thickness a recess 51. This recess 51 extendsin the length direction of the insulating elements over the wholethickness of the cleat 23 and over the whole thickness of the rim 22.The recesses 51 of two adjacent edging insulating elements 5 thus form ashaft allowing a stud of the anchor member 6 to be housed. Thisarrangement of the cleat 23 and of the rim 22 thus allows a reduction inthe space required between said adjacent edging insulating elements 5.

The cover panel 14 comprises, on an upper face opposite the insulatingfilling 15, steps 24 on each side of the edging insulating element 5having a rim 22. These steps 24 are located in line with thecorresponding side panels 17, 18 and form a support zone for bridgingelements 25 disposed between two adjacent insulating elements 4, 5 inorder to form a continuous support surface for the sealed membrane. Suchsteps 24 and such bridging elements 25 may be formed in many ways andare for example described in document WO2017064413.

The upper face of the cover panel 14 further comprises a transversemilling 26 and a longitudinal milling 27.

The transverse milling 26 extends in a direction parallel to thetransverse bearing wall over the whole length of the cover panel 14 insaid direction parallel to the edge corner 1. The transverse milling 26extends from one edge of the cover panel 14 located in line with theplates 20 defining the second side of the edging insulating element 5.This transverse milling 26 extends for example over a distancesubstantially equal to one third of the width of the cover panel 14 in adirection perpendicular to the transverse bearing wall 3.

The longitudinal milling 27 extends in a direction perpendicular to thetransverse bearing wall 3 and connects the step 24 in line with thefirst transverse side panel 18 and the transverse milling 26.Preferably, this longitudinal milling 27 is centred on the cover panel14 in a direction parallel to the edge corner 1. A longitudinal anchorstrip 28 is disposed in this longitudinal milling 27 in order to anchor,for example by lap welding, two adjacent metal plates 8 of the sealedmembrane of the tank wall.

The cover panel 14 also has two cut-outs 29 located in line with theopenings 21 on the second side of the edging insulating element 5. Thesecut-outs 29 extend in a direction perpendicular to the transverse wall 3by more than the width of the transverse milling 26 taken in this samedirection. The transverse milling 26 is extended around the cut-out 29by a respective milling 30 surrounding said cut-out 29 beyond thetransverse milling 26 in said direction perpendicular to the transversebearing wall 3. Closure plates 31 connect the cover panel 14 and thebottom panel 13 between the adjacent bearing spacers 16 located in linewith the cut-outs 29. Thus, the edging insulating element 5 has twogrooves 32 formed in the thickness of said edging insulating element 5and each defined by the opening 21, the cut-out 29, the adjacent bearingspacers 16 flush with the opening 21 and the closure plate 31. Thesegrooves 32 are preferably centred between the longitudinal milling 27and the longitudinal side panels 17. The groove 32 has dimensionsallowing an anchor rod 12 to be housed. Preferably, the insulatingfilling 15 is disposed in the edging insulating element 5 between theadjacent bearing spacers 16 except for the adjacent bearing spacers 16defining the grooves 32 in order to allow anchor rods 12 to be housed insaid grooves 32.

Many methods may be used in order to form the cover panel 14. In themode of embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , sheets of plywood having differentdimensions are stacked in order to form the cover panel 14 having thesteps 24 and the millings 26, 27, 30. In a mode of embodiment which isnot depicted, the cover panel 14 is formed by a sheet of plywood inwhich the steps 24 and the millings 26, 27, 30 are directly formed.

As shown in FIG. 5 , each flange 10, 11 of the angle bracket 9 has apair of tabs 33, for example pre-assembled by welding on the flanges 10,11 or obtained by folding a single piece of sheet metal. The tabs 33 ofeach pair of tabs 33 are disposed at opposing lateral ends of the flange10, 11 and are therefore spaced apart from one another along the edgecorner 1. It will be understood from the fact that the tabs are disposedat the lateral ends that said tabs 33 are closer to the edges of theflange 10, 11 than to the middle of the flange 10, 11 in a directionparallel to the edge corner 1. These tabs 33 project from a lower faceof the flange 10, 11 perpendicularly to said flange 10, 11. One end ofthe tab 33 opposite the point of connection between the flanges 10, 11has a cut-out 34. A bottom 35 of this cut-out 34 extends perpendicularlyto the flange 10, 11 from which said tab 33 projects. These tabs 33 ofthe first flange 10 may be coplanar with a corresponding tab 33 of thesecond flange 11. Advantageously, the tabs 33 of the first flange 10 andthe tabs 33 of the second flange 11 are formed in a continuous manner.Such tabs 33 which are continuous with the flanges 10, 11 increase therigidity of the angle bracket 9. In another mode of embodiment, the tabs33 of the flanges 10, 11 are discontinuous at the edge corner.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the angle brackets 9 have a dimension in adirection parallel to the edge corner 1 equal to half of the dimensionof the edging insulating elements 5 in the same direction. The row ofangle brackets 9 thus comprises alternating angle brackets 9 lying ontwo adjacent edging insulating elements 5 and angle brackets 9 lying ononly one of said edging insulating elements 5.

Moreover, the flanges 10 of the angle brackets 9 have a length in adirection perpendicular to the transverse bearing wall 3 substantiallyequal to the length of the transverse millings 26 of the edginginsulating elements 5 on which said flanges 10 lie in this samedirection. The flanges 10 are housed in and have a thicknesssubstantially equal to the depth of the transverse millings 26 such thatan upper face of the flanges 10 is flush with an upper face of the coverpanel 14 and of the longitudinal anchor strips 28. As shown in FIG. 1 ,bridging plates 46 similar to the bridging plates 25 are disposed in themilling 30 surrounding the grooves 32 and flush with the upper face ofthe cover panel 14. Thus, the flanges 10, the longitudinal anchor strip28 and the upper face of the cover panel 14 and the bridging plates 46together form a substantially planar and continuous support surface forreceiving the end of the sealed membrane of the longitudinal tank wall.The flanges 11 of the angle brackets 9 are arranged in a similar manneron the edging insulating elements of the transverse tank wall.

The angle brackets 9 are arranged on the edging insulating elements 5 insuch a way that the tabs 33 of one angle bracket 9 are housed in arespective groove 32 of a corresponding edging insulating element 5 onwhich said angle bracket 9 lies. Thus, the tab 33 projects from a flange10, 11 and passes through a cut-out 29 of the cover panel 14 on whichsaid flange 10, 11 lies. Furthermore, since the angle brackets 9 arejuxtaposed along the edge corner 1, the same groove 32 houses arespective tab 33 of each of the two adjacent angle brackets 9 whichmeet in said groove 32.

Preferably, the tabs 33 project from the flanges 10, 11 at a distancefrom the edges of the flanges 10, 11 in such a way that the end of theflange 10, 11 forming said edge at least partially covers the cut-out29. This arrangement allows two adjacent angle brackets 9 to cover asfar as possible the cut-outs 29 of the edging insulating elements 5 onwhich they lie and therefore makes it possible to reduce the spacerequired for connecting in a sealed manner said adjacent angle brackets9. The sealed connection between two adjacent angle brackets 9 may beachieved in many ways, for example by means of a corrugated connectingpiece 36 such as shown in FIG. 6 . Such corrugated connecting pieces 36comprise two planar bases 37 surrounding a corrugation and forming anangle corresponding to the angle of the angle brackets 9. These planarbases 37 are for example lap welded on the ends of the adjacent anglebrackets 9.

As shown in FIG. 1 , each groove 32 furthermore houses an anchor rod 12.Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1 , the edging insulating elements 5anchored on the transverse bearing wall 3 are aligned with the edginginsulating elements 5 anchored on the longitudinal bearing wall in sucha way that the grooves 32 of said edging insulating elements 5 arealigned in a plane perpendicular to the edge corner 1. Thus, the anchorrods 12 anchored on the longitudinal bearing wall 2 intersect the anchorrods 12 anchored on the transverse bearing wall 3.

The anchor rods 12 are coupled with the tabs 33 housed in said grooves32. Thus, the flanges 10, 11 of one angle bracket 9 are anchored bymeans of two anchor rods 12 housed in respective grooves 32 formed inthe edging insulating element(s) 5 on which said flange 10, 11 of theangle bracket 9 lies. Collaboration between the anchor rods 12 such asto couple the tabs 33 and the anchor rods 12 may be achieved in manyways, for example in a similar way to collaboration between the anchorrods and the tabs described in document WO2017064413, which is to sayusing an end of the anchor rod comprising a U-shaped hook each branch ofwhich collaborates with the bottom 35 of a tab 33.

Since the anchor rods 12 are housed in the grooves 32 formed in theedging insulating elements 5, advantageously there is no need for thespace between the edging insulating elements 5 to be set at a size forhousing said anchor rods 12. Thus, the distance between two edginginsulating elements 5 along the edge corner 1 may be reduced simply tothe distance required for housing the anchor members 6 of the edginginsulating elements 5, for example the distance is approximately 50 mm.

Furthermore, since the angle brackets 9 are directly anchored on each ofthe bearing walls 2, 3 forming the edge corner 1 via the anchor rods 12,it is not necessary to fix said angle brackets on the edging insulatingelements 5. Thus, the angle brackets 9 may lie directly in thetransverse millings 26 and do not need to be anchored on the edginginsulating elements 5 by means of screwing, riveting, or the like.

In a mode of embodiment which is not depicted, the angle brackets 9 havea length in a direction parallel to the edge corner 1 which is identicalto the length of the edging insulating elements 5 in the same direction.Furthermore, each edging insulating element 5 comprises only a singlegroove 32 centred in this direction parallel to the edge corner 1. Thus,the longitudinal milling 27 is disposed in line with the groove 32 andextends the milling 30 surrounding the groove 32.

Advantageously, in this mode of embodiment which is not depicted, eachflange 10, 11 of the angle brackets 9 overlaps two adjacent edginginsulating elements 5 in such a way that the tabs 33 of said flange 10,11 are each housed in a groove 32 of one of the edging insulatingelements 5 on which said flange 10, 11 lies.

In another mode of embodiment which is not depicted, the angle brackets9 have a length in a direction parallel to the edge corner 1 which isidentical to the length of the edging insulating elements 5 in this samedirection. Moreover, the edging insulating elements 5 do not compriseany grooves 32 and the anchor rods 12 are housed between the adjacentedging insulating elements 5 in a similar way to that described indocument WO2017064413. This mode of embodiment necessitates sufficientspacing between the edging insulating elements 5 in order to house theanchor rods 12 but does not require anchoring of the angle bracket 9 onthe edging insulating elements 5, thus allowing simple mounting of thesealed membranes in line with the edge corners.

In another mode of embodiment which is not depicted, the angle brackets9 have a length in a direction parallel to the edge corner 1 which isequal to half of the length of the edging insulating elements 5 in thissame direction. Moreover, the edging insulating element 5 has a singlegroove 32 centred on said edging insulating element 5 in this samedirection. Furthermore, anchor rods 12 are disposed both in the grooves32 formed in the edging insulating elements 5 and between said edginginsulating elements 5. Each angle bracket 9 lies on a respective edginginsulating element 5 and has on the one hand a tab 33 housed in thegroove 32 of said edging insulating element 5 and coupled with theanchor rod 12 housed in said groove 32 and, on the other hand, a tab 33housed in the space between said edging insulating element 5 and anadjacent edging insulating element collaborating with an anchor rod 12housed in said space.

FIG. 6 shows a tank corner at the point of connection between twolongitudinal bearing walls 2 and a transverse bearing wall 3. Thethermally insulating barrier of each of the tank walls comprises acorner insulating element 38 extending the rows of edging insulatingelements 5 along the edge corners of the bearing walls 2, 3 meeting atsaid corner. One corner piece 39 lies on the corner insulating elements38. This corner piece 39 comprises three corner flanges 40 eachextending in a plane parallel to a respective bearing wall 2, 3 andlying on a corner insulating element 38 of a corresponding tank wall.This corner piece 39 is anchored in the corner of the bearing structureby a single corner anchor rod.

Only features of the corner insulating element 38 of a longitudinal tankwall are described hereinafter, this description applying by analogy tothe other corner insulating elements 38 of the other tank walls.Likewise, collaboration between one corner flange 40 lying on saidcorner insulating element 38 and the row of angle brackets 9 along theedge corner 1 described hereinafter applies by analogy to collaborationbetween the other corner flanges 40 and the other rows of angle bracket9 along the other edge corners forming the corner.

The corner insulating element 38 illustrated in FIG. 6 comprises in itsthickness a groove 41 facing the transverse bearing wall 3 similar tothe grooves 32 described above. Furthermore, this corner insulatingelement 38 comprises a corner milling extending, along the edge corner1, the transverse milling 26 of the edging insulating elements 5 inwhich the angle brackets 9 are housed along the edge corner 1.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view from below of the corner piece 39forming the sealed membrane corner. The corner piece 39 comprises ahollow cylindrical base 47 an internal opening of which opens in thecorner formed by the point of connection of the three corner flanges 40.This cylindrical base 47 comprises a bottom 48 perforated by athrough-orifice 49.

When the tank is fabricated, a corner anchor rod 99 extending in acentral direction of the solid angle formed by the corner of the bearingstructure is welded onto the bearing structure in said corner of thebearing structure. To this end, an anchor plate (not depicted) extendingin a plane perpendicular to the direction of the corner anchor rod 99 isfixed to a first end of said corner anchor rod 99. Edges of this anchorplate are then welded onto respective bearing walls forming said cornerin order to anchor the corner anchor rod on the bearing structure at itsfirst end.

When the corner piece 39 is installed on the corner insulating elements38, a second end of the corner rod 99 opposite the first end of thecorner rod is inserted into the cylindrical base 47 through thethrough-orifice 49 in the bottom 48 of the cylindrical base 47 in such away as to project into the internal space of said cylindrical base 47. Anut is then fixed onto this second end of the corner anchor rod in theinternal space of the cylindrical base 47 in order to couple saidcylindrical base 47 on the corner anchor rod. A metal corner plate 50such as illustrated in FIG. 6 is then attached and welded in a sealedmanner on the corner piece 39 at the cylindrical base 47 in order toclose in a sealed manner said cylindrical base 47 and ensure sealing ofthe corner piece in the corner of the sealed membrane.

As shown in FIG. 6 , an end angle bracket 42 in the row of anglebrackets 9 lies both on the corner insulating element 38 and an endedging insulating element adjacent to said corner insulating element 38.

This end angle bracket 42 has, at its end closest to the corner, twotabs 33 projecting in the direction of the longitudinal bearing wall 2.Furthermore, this end angle bracket 42 fully covers a cut-out 43 of thegroove 41 similar to the cut-out 29 of the edging insulating elements 5.In other words, the edge 44 at the end of the end angle bracket 42 fromwhich said two tabs 33 housed in the groove 41 project lies on thecorner milling beyond the groove 41 of the corner insulating element 38.

Moreover, an anchor rod 12 is housed in the groove 41 of the cornerinsulating element 38 and is coupled to the two tabs 33 of the end anglebracket 42 housed in said groove 41 in order to anchor the end anglebracket 42 on the transverse bearing wall 3.

An end angle bracket 42 in the context of a 135° edge corner of thebearing structure is shown schematically in FIG. 8 and shows that theend of said end angle bracket 42 has two tabs 33 projecting from thefirst flange 10 in order to collaborate with the end anchor rod housedin the corresponding corner insulating element 38.

In a mode of embodiment which is not depicted, the end angle bracket 42is identical to the other angle brackets 9 in the row of angle brackets9 and has only one tab 33 housed in the groove 41 of the cornerinsulating element 38, this single tab 33 being coupled to the anchorrod 12 housed in said groove 41.

The corner flange 40 lies in the corner milling of the corner insulatingelement 38. This corner flange extends and is flush with the end anglebracket 42. A corrugated connecting piece 36 such as described above isfixed in a sealed manner, for example by lap welding, both on the endangle bracket 42 and the corner flange 40.

FIG. 9 shows an edging insulating element 5 according to a second modeof embodiment which differs from the first mode of embodiment shown inFIGS. 1 to 6 in that the angle brackets 9 are replaced by transverseanchor strips 45 retained in a sealed manner by angle pieces attachedthereon as described in document WO2017064413. Elements which areidentical to or have the same function as elements described above inrelation to FIGS. 1 to 8 bear the same reference symbols.

In this second mode of embodiment, the transverse milling 26 of anedging insulating element 5 does not extend from the second transverseside of said edging insulating element 5. This transverse milling 26 isfor example located at a distance, taken perpendicularly with thetransverse wall 3 of the second transverse side, substantially equal toone third of the width of the edging insulating element 5 in saiddirection. The longitudinal milling 27 itself extends from the firsttransverse side as far as the second transverse side over the wholewidth of the edging insulating element in a direction perpendicular tothe transverse bearing wall.

As shown in FIG. 10 , this second mode of embodiment comprises a row oftransverse anchor strips 45 each having a structure similar to theanchor strips described in document WO2017064413, which is to say thatthese transverse anchor strips 45 have two opposing ends folded over toform tabs 33 extending in the direction of the longitudinal bearingwall. These transverse anchor strips 45 are planar and extend parallelto the edge corner 1 at a distance from the second transverse side ofthe edging insulating elements on which they lie. In other words, eachtransverse anchor strip 45 lies only on a single row of edginginsulating elements 5 and does not extend parallel to a sealed membraneof a single tank wall.

These transverse anchor strips 45 have a length in a direction parallelto the edge corner 1 substantially equal to half of the length takenalong this direction of the edging insulating elements 5. Thus, in asimilar way to the angle brackets 9 described above in relation to FIGS.1 to 8 , the row of transverse anchor strips 45 includes alternatingtransverse anchor strips 45 borne by a single edging insulating element5 and transverse anchor strips 45 borne jointly by two adjacent edginginsulating elements 5.

Likewise, the tabs 33 of each transverse anchor strip 45 are housed intwo adjacent grooves 32 along the edge corner, whether these twoadjacent grooves 32 are formed in the same edging insulating element 5or in two adjacent edging insulating elements 5. FIG. 10 moreoverschematically shows collaboration between the anchor rods 12 and thetabs 33 of the different anchor strips 45, this collaboration beingsimilar to the collaboration between the tabs 33 of the angle brackets 9and the anchor rods 12 in FIGS. 1 to 8 .

In order to ensure continuity of the sealed membrane at the edge corner1, a row of metal angle pieces is disposed on the edging insulatingelements 5 which are perpendicular to the line of the edge corner 1.Such a row of metal angle pieces is for example described in documentWO2017064413 and is aligned along the edge corner 1, each metal anglepiece having two flanges each extending parallel to one of the bearingwalls 2, 3 forming the edge corner 1. These angle pieces are welded inpairs along the edge corner 1 in order to ensure sealing of the sealedmembrane in line with the edge corner 1. Furthermore, these metal anglepieces and the sealed membranes of the tank walls are welded on thetransverse anchor strips 45 in such a way as to connect in a sealedmanner said sealed membranes of the tank walls in line with the edgecorner 1.

Thus, in this mode of embodiment, the transverse anchor strips 45 andthe metal angle pieces together fulfil the same function as an anglebracket 9 as described above in relation to FIGS. 1 to 8 .

In a variant which is not depicted, the transverse anchor strips 45 havea length taken parallel to the edge corner 1 substantially equal to thelength of the edging insulating elements 5. Each edging insulatingelement 5 has a single groove 32 substantially centred on said edginginsulating element 5. The transverse anchor strip 45 is then arranged soas to overlap two adjacent edging insulating elements 5 in such a waythat the tabs 33 of the transverse anchor strips 45 are housed in agroove 32 of one of said edging insulating elements 5 which it overlaps.

The technique described above for constructing a tank having a singlesealed membrane may be used in different types of containers, forexample for forming a double-membrane tank for liquefied natural gas(LNG) in an onshore facility or in a floating structure such as amethane tanker or the like. In this context, it may be considered thatthe sealed membrane shown in the previous drawings is a secondary sealedmembrane, and that a primary insulating barrier as well as a primarysealed membrane, not depicted, must still be added to this secondarysealed membrane. In this way, this technique may also be applied totanks having a plurality of thermally insulating barriers and sealedmembranes overlaid.

Referring to FIG. 11 , a cutaway view of a methane tanker 70 shows asealed and insulated tank 71 having a generally prismatic shape mountedin the double hull 72 of the ship. The wall of the tank 71 comprises aprimary sealed barrier intended to be in contact with the LNG containedin the tank, a secondary sealed barrier arranged between the primarysealed barrier and the double hull 72 of the ship, and two insulatingbarriers arranged respectively between the primary sealed barrier andthe secondary sealed barrier and between the secondary sealed barrierand the double hull 72.

In a manner which is known per se, loading/offloading pipelines 73disposed on the top deck of the ship may be connected, by means ofsuitable connectors, to a maritime or harbour terminal in order totransfer a cargo of LNG from or to the tank 71.

FIG. 11 depicts one example of a maritime terminal comprising a loadingand offloading station 75, an underwater pipe 76 and an onshore facility77. The loading and offloading station 75 is a fixed offshore facilitycomprising a mobile arm 74 and a tower 78 supporting the mobile arm 74.The mobile arm 74 carries a bundle of insulated flexible conduits 79that can be connected to the loading/offloading pipelines 73. Theorientable mobile arm 74 adapts to suit all sizes of methane tanker. Aconnecting pipe, not depicted, extends inside the tower 78. The loadingand offloading station 75 allows the methane tanker 70 to be loaded andoffloaded from or to the onshore facility 77. The latter comprisesliquefied gas storage tanks 80 and connecting pipes 81 connected by theunderwater pipe 76 to the loading or offloading station 75. Theunderwater pipe 76 allows the transfer of liquefied gas between theloading or offloading station 75 and the onshore facility 77 over a longdistance, for example 5 km, making it possible to keep the methanetanker 70 a long way away from the shore during the loading andoffloading operations.

In order to generate the pressure required for the transfer of theliquefied gas, use is made of pumps carried onboard the ship 70 and/orpumps with which the onshore facility 77 is equipped and/or pumps withwhich the loading and offloading station 75 is equipped.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with a numberof particular modes of embodiment, it is quite obvious that it is not inany way restricted thereto and that it comprises all the technicalequivalents of the means described and combinations thereof where thesefall within the scope of the invention.

In particular, a single thermally insulating barrier and a single sealedmembrane are shown and described above, but the sealed and thermallyinsulating tank may comprise two thermally insulating barriers and twosealed membranes alternately overlaid. Thus the thermally insulatingbarrier and the sealed membrane described above may constitute asecondary thermally insulating barrier and a secondary sealed membraneof such a tank, a primary thermally insulating barrier lying on saidsecondary sealed membrane and a primary sealed membrane lying on theprimary thermally insulating barrier.

The use of the verbs “comprise”, “have” or “include” and conjugatedforms thereof does not exclude there being elements or steps other thanthose listed in a claim.

In the claims, any reference sign between parentheses should not beinterpreted as placing a limit on the claim.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A sealed and thermally insulating tank incorporated into a polyhedral bearing structure, a first bearing wall (2) of the bearing structure and a second bearing wall (3) of the bearing structure forming an edge corner (1) of the bearing structure, the tank comprising a first tank wall anchored on the first bearing wall and a second tank wall anchored on the second bearing wall, the tank walls comprising a thermally insulating barrier anchored on the corresponding bearing wall and a sealed membrane borne by said thermally insulating barrier, the tank further comprising an angle bracket (9), the angle bracket (9) comprising a first flange (10) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall and a second flange (11) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall, an end portion of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall turned towards closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to the first flange (10) of the angle bracket (9) and an end portion of the sealed membrane of the second tank wall turned towards closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to the second flange (11) of the angle bracket (9) in such a way that the angle bracket (9) connects in a sealed manner the sealed membrane of the first tank wall and the sealed membrane of the second tank wall in line with the edge corner (1), in which the angle bracket (9) comprises a pair of first tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the first flange (10) in the direction of toward the first bearing wall (2) and a pair of second tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the second flange (11) in the direction of toward the second bearing wall (3), the tank comprising a pair of first anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, said first end being anchored to the second bearing wall (3) and said second end being coupled to a respective first tab (33) of the pair of first tabs (33), one said first anchor rod (12) extending from the second bearing wall (3) in the direction of toward the corresponding first tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between the angle bracket (9) and the second bearing wall (3) and retain the angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, the tank further comprising a pair of second anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, said first end being anchored on the first bearing wall (2) and said second end being coupled to a respective second tab (33) of the pair of second tabs (33), one said second anchor rod (12) extending from the first bearing wall (2) in the direction of toward the corresponding respective second tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between the angle bracket (9) and the first bearing wall (2) and retain the angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, wherein the flanges and the tabs of the angle bracket are assembled by welding or formed from a single element in such a way that the angle bracket (9) is one-piece, and wherein each tab of the pair of first tabs is coplanar with a corresponding tab of the pair of second tabs.
 2. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 1, in which the flanges (10, 11) and the tabs (33) of the angle bracket (9) are formed from a single element in such a way that the angle bracket (9) is one-piece.
 3. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 1, in which one said first tab (33) projects from a lower face of the first flange (10) facing the first bearing wall (2) at a distance from a lateral edge of the first flange (10) of the angle bracket (9) forming one end of the first flange (9), and in which one said second tab (33) projects from a lower face of the second flange (11) facing the second bearing wall (3) at a distance from a lateral edge of the second flange (11) of the angle bracket (9) forming one end of the second flange (11).
 4. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 1, in which a longitudinal edge of the first flange (10) parallel to the edge corner (1) projects beyond the first tabs (33) in a direction perpendicular to the second bearing wall (3) in such a way that said longitudinal edge of the first flange (10) is further from the second bearing wall (3) than said first tabs (33) in said direction perpendicular to the second bearing wall (3), and in which a longitudinal edge of the second flange (11) parallel to the edge corner (1) projects beyond the second tabs (33) in a direction perpendicular to the first bearing wall (2) in such a way that said longitudinal edge of the second flange (11) is further from the first bearing wall (2) than said second tabs (33) in said direction perpendicular to the first bearing wall (2).
 5. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 1, A sealed and thermally insulating tank incorporated into a bearing structure, a first bearing wall (2) of the bearing structure and a second bearing wall (3) of the bearing structure forming an edge corner (1) of the bearing structure, the tank comprising a first tank wall anchored on the first bearing wall and a second tank wall anchored on the second bearing wall, the tank walls comprising a thermally insulating barrier anchored on the corresponding bearing wall and a sealed membrane borne by said thermally insulating barrier, the tank further comprising an angle bracket (9), the angle bracket (9) comprising a first flange (10) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall and a second flange (11) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall, an end portion of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to the first flange (10) of the angle bracket (9) and an end portion of the sealed membrane of the second tank wall closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to the second flange (11) of the angle bracket (9) in such a way that the angle bracket (9) connects in a sealed manner the sealed membrane of the first tank wall and the sealed membrane of the second tank wall in line with the edge corner (1), in which the angle bracket (9) comprises a pair of first tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the first flange (10) toward the first bearing wall (2) and a pair of second tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the second flange (11) toward the second bearing wall (3), the tank comprising a pair of first anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, said first end being anchored to the second bearing wall (3) and said second end being coupled to a respective first tab (33) of the pair of first tabs (33), one said first anchor rod (12) extending from the second bearing wall (3) toward the corresponding first tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between the angle bracket (9) and the second bearing wall (3) and retain the angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, the tank further comprising a pair of second anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, said first end being anchored on the first bearing wall (2) and said second end being coupled to a respective second tab (33) of the pair of second tabs (33), one said second anchor rod (12) extending from the first bearing wall (2) toward the respective second tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between the angle bracket (9) and the first bearing wall (2) and retain the angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, wherein the flanges and the tabs of the angle bracket are assembled by welding or formed from a single element in such a way that the angle bracket (9) is one-piece, and in which the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall forms a first support surface on which the sealed membrane of the first tank wall lies, and in which the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall forms a first milling (26) arranged at one end of the first support surface turned towards closest to the edge corner (1), the first flange (10) of the angle bracket (9) being housed in said first milling (26) in such a way that an upper face of the first flange (10) of the angle bracket (9) is flush with the first support surface, and in which the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall forms a second milling (26) arranged at one end of the second support surface turned towards closest to the edge corner (1), the second flange (11) of the angle bracket (9) being housed in said second milling (26) in such a way that an upper face of the second flange (11) of the angle bracket (9) is flush with the second support surface.
 6. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 1, comprising a row of angle brackets (9) juxtaposed and connected in a sealed manner in pairs along the edge corner (1), several angle brackets in the row of angle brackets comprising a first flange (10) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall and a second flange (11) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall, an end portion of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall turned towards the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to the first flange (10) of said angle brackets (9) and an end portion of the sealed membrane of the second tank wall turned towards the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to said second flange (11) of said angle brackets in such a way that said angle brackets (9) connect in a sealed manner the sealed membrane of the first tank wall and the sealed membrane of the second tank wall in line with the edge corner (1), in which one said angle bracket (9) comprises a pair of first tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the first flange (10) of said angle bracket (9) in the direction of the first bearing wall (2) and a pair of second tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the second flange (11) of said angle bracket (9) in the direction of the second bearing wall (3), the tank comprising a row of first anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, a plurality of first anchor rods in the row of first anchor rods having a said first end anchored to the second bearing wall (3) and a said second end coupled to at least one first tab (33) of at least one angle bracket (9) in the row of angle brackets (9), said first anchor rods (12) extending from the second bearing wall (3) in the direction of said at least one first tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between said at least one angle bracket (9) and the second bearing wall (3) and retain said at least one angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, the tank further comprising a row of second anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, a plurality of second anchor rods in the row of second anchor rods having a said first end anchored on the first bearing wall (2) and a said second end coupled to at least one second tab (33) of at least one angle bracket (9) in the row of angle brackets (9), said second anchor rods (12) extending from first bearing wall (2) in the direction of said at least one second tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between said at least one angle bracket (9) and the first bearing wall (2) and retain said at least one angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier.
 7. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 6, A sealed and thermally insulating tank incorporated into a bearing structure, a first bearing wall (2) of the bearing structure and a second bearing wall (3) of the bearing structure forming an edge corner (1) of the bearing structure, the tank comprising a first tank wall anchored on the first bearing wall and a second tank wall anchored on the second bearing wall, the tank walls comprising a thermally insulating barrier anchored on the corresponding bearing wall and a sealed membrane borne by said thermally insulating barrier, the tank further comprising an angle bracket (9), the angle bracket (9) comprising a first flange (10) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall and a second flange (11) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall, an end portion of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to the first flange (10) of the angle bracket (9) and an end portion of the sealed membrane of the second tank wall closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to the second flange (11) of the angle bracket (9) in such a way that the angle bracket (9) connects in a sealed manner the sealed membrane of the first tank wall and the sealed membrane of the second tank wall in line with the edge corner (1), in which the angle bracket (9) comprises a pair of first tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the first flange (10) toward the first bearing wall (2) and a pair of second tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the second flange (11) toward the second bearing wall (3), the tank comprising a pair of first anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, said first end being anchored to the second bearing wall (3) and said second end being coupled to a respective first tab (33) of the pair of first tabs (33), one said first anchor rod (12) extending from the second bearing wall (3) toward the corresponding first tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between the angle bracket (9) and the second bearing wall (3) and retain the angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, the tank further comprising a pair of second anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, said first end being anchored on the first bearing wall (2) and said second end being coupled to a respective second tab (33) of the pair of second tabs (33), one said second anchor rod (12) extending from the first bearing wall (2) toward the respective second tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between the angle bracket (9) and the first bearing wall (2) and retain the angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, wherein the flanges and the tabs of the angle bracket are assembled by welding or formed from a single element in such a way that the angle bracket (9) is one-piece, the tank further comprising a row of angle brackets (9) juxtaposed and connected in a sealed manner in pairs along the edge corner (1), several angle brackets in the row of angle brackets comprising a first flange (10) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall and a second flange (11) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall, an end portion of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to the first flange (10) of said angle brackets (9) and an end portion of the sealed membrane of the second tank wall closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to said second flange (11) of said angle brackets in such a way that said angle brackets (9) connect in a sealed manner the sealed membrane of the first tank wall and the sealed membrane of the second tank wall in line with the edge corner (1), in which one said angle bracket (9) comprises a pair of first tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the first flange (10) of said angle bracket (9) toward the first bearing wall (2) and a pair of second tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the second flange (11) of said angle bracket (9) toward the second bearing wall (3), the tank comprising a row of first anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, a plurality of first anchor rods in the row of first anchor rods having a said first end anchored to the second bearing wall (3) and a said second end coupled to at least one first tab (33) of at least one angle bracket (9) in the row of angle brackets (9), said first anchor rods (12) extending from the second bearing wall (3) toward said at least one first tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between said at least one angle bracket (9) and the second bearing wall (3) and retain said at least one angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, the tank further comprising a row of second anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, a plurality of second anchor rods in the row of second anchor rods having a said first end anchored on the first bearing wall (2) and a said second end coupled to at least one second tab (33) of at least one angle bracket (9) in the row of angle brackets (9), said second anchor rods (12) extending from first bearing wall (2) toward said at least one second tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between said at least one angle bracket (9) and the first bearing wall (2) and retain said at least one angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, and in which the second end of one said anchor rod (12) is jointly coupled to two anchor tabs (12) belonging to two adjacent angle brackets (9) in said row of angle brackets (9) in order to retain said two adjacent angle brackets (9) on the thermally insulating barrier.
 8. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 1, in which the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall comprises a row of first edging blocks (5) anchored on the first bearing wall (2) and juxtaposed along the edge corner (1), at least two of said first edging blocks (5) comprising a groove (32) formed in the thickness of the first edging block (5) from an upper face of the first edging block (5) in such a way as to form a space accessible from the second bearing wall (3) in the first edging block (5), the anchor rods (12) of said pair of first anchor rods (12) each being housed in the grooves (32) of the two first edging blocks (5), the first flange (10) of the angle bracket (9) being disposed overlapping said two first edging blocks (5) in such a way that the first tabs (33) of said angle bracket (9) project into said grooves (32) of the two edging blocks (5).
 9. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 8, in which at least one of the first edging blocks (5) comprises: a bottom panel (13) which is rectangular overall, a cover panel (14) which is rectangular overall disposed parallel to the bottom panel (13) plumb with the bottom panel (13), spacer elements (16), disposed between the bottom panel (13) and the cover panel (14) and extending in a thickness direction of the edging block (5) between the bottom panel (13) and the cover panel (14) in such a way as to keep the cover panel (14) at a distance from the bottom panel (13), an insulating filling (15) disposed between the bottom panel (13) and the cover panel (14) and between the spacer elements (16), in such a way as to fill an internal space of the edging block (5), in which the cover panel (14) has at least one cut-out (29) opening on a transverse edge of the cover panel (14) facing the second bearing wall (3) at a position located between two longitudinal edges of the cover panel (14), a transverse side of the edging block (5) facing the second bearing wall (3) comprising at least one opening (21) located in line with said at least one cut-out (29), the spacer elements (16) and the insulating filling (15) being disposed in such a way as to form a free space under said at least one cut-out (29) of the cover panel (14) and in line with said at least one opening (21) on the transverse side of the edging block (5), said free space forming the groove (32) formed in the thickness of said edging block (5).
 10. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 1, in which the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall comprises a row of second edging blocks (5) anchored on the second bearing wall (3) and juxtaposed along the edge corner (1), at least two of said second edging blocks (5) each comprising a groove (32) formed in the thickness of the second edging block (5) from an upper face of the second edging block (5) in such a way as to form a space accessible from the first bearing wall (2) in the second edging block (5), the anchor rods (12) of said pair of second anchor rods (12) each being housed in the grooves (32) of the two second edging blocks (5), the second flange (11) of one angle bracket (9) being disposed overlapping the two second edging blocks (5) in such a way that the second tabs (33) of said angle bracket (9) project into said grooves (32) of the two second edging blocks (5).
 11. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 1, comprising a row of angle brackets (9) juxtaposed and connected in a sealed manner in pairs along the edge corner (1), several angle brackets in the row of angle brackets comprising a first flange (10) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall and a second flange (11) borne by the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall, an end portion of the sealed membrane of the first tank wall closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to the first flange (10) of said angle brackets (9) and an end portion of the sealed membrane of the second tank wall closest to the edge corner (1) being fixed in a sealed manner to said second flange (11) of said angle brackets in such a way that said angle brackets (9) connect in a sealed manner the sealed membrane of the first tank wall and the sealed membrane of the second tank wall in line with the edge corner (1), in which one said angle bracket (9) comprises a pair of first tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the first flange (10) of said angle bracket (9) toward the first bearing wall (2) and a pair of second tabs (33) each projecting from a respective end portion of the second flange (11) of said angle bracket (9) toward the second bearing wall (3), the tank comprising a row of first anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, a plurality of first anchor rods in the row of first anchor rods having a said first end anchored to the second bearing wall (3) and a said second end coupled to at least one first tab (33) of at least one angle bracket (9) in the row of angle brackets (9), said first anchor rods (12) extending from the second bearing wall (3) toward said at least one first tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between said at least one angle bracket (9) and the second bearing wall (3) and retain said at least one angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, the tank further comprising a row of second anchor rods (12) each comprising a first end and a second end opposite the first end, a plurality of second anchor rods in the row of second anchor rods having a said first end anchored on the first bearing wall (2) and a said second end coupled to at least one second tab (33) of at least one angle bracket (9) in the row of angle brackets (9), said second anchor rods (12) extending from first bearing wall (2) toward said at least one second tab (33) in order to transmit a tensile load between said at least one angle bracket (9) and the first bearing wall (2) and retain said at least one angle bracket (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, wherein the second end of one said anchor rod (12) is jointly coupled to two anchor tabs (12) belonging to two adjacent angle brackets (9) in said row of angle brackets (9) in order to retain said two adjacent angle brackets (9) on the thermally insulating barrier, in which the bearing structure comprises a third bearing wall on which is anchored the thermally insulating barrier of a third tank wall, said third tank wall comprising a sealed membrane lying on the thermally insulating barrier of said third tank wall, the third bearing wall forming with the first bearing wall and the second bearing wall a corner of the bearing structure located at an end of said edge corner (1), the tank comprising a sealed corner piece (39) comprising a first flange (40) lying on the thermally insulating barrier of the first tank wall, a second flange (40) lying on the thermally insulating barrier of the second tank wall and a third flange (40) lying on the thermally insulating barrier of the third tank wall, the corner piece (39) being adjacent to a last angle bracket (42) in the row of angle brackets (9), the first flange (10) of the last angle bracket (42) being connected in a sealed manner to the first flange (40) of the corner piece (39) and the second flange (11) of the last angle bracket (42) being connected in a sealed manner to the second flange (40) of the corner piece (39).
 12. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 11, further comprising a corner anchor rod (99) having a first end anchored on the bearing structure in the corner of the bearing structure and a second end attached to the corner piece (39) in order to transmit a tensile load between the corner piece (39) and the bearing structure and retain the corner piece (39) on the thermally insulating barriers of the first, second and third tank walls, said corner anchor rod (99) extending in a central direction of the solid angle formed by the corner of the bearing structure and being attached to a central zone of the corner piece (39) located at the point of connection between the first, second and third flanges of the corner piece (39).
 13. The sealed and thermally insulating tank according to claim 11, in which the last angle bracket (42) comprises, at an end of the first flange (10) connected in a sealed manner to the first flange of the corner piece (39), a third tab, a last first anchor rod in the row of first anchor rods being coupled to one of the tabs of the pair of tabs of the first flange located at said end of said first flange and to said third tab, and in which the last angle bracket (42) comprises, at an end of the second flange (11) connected in a sealed manner to the second flange of the corner piece (39), a fourth tab, a last second anchor rod in the row of second anchor rods being coupled to one of the tabs of the pair of tabs of the second flange located at said end of said flange and to said fourth tab.
 14. A ship (70) for transporting a cold liquid product, the ship comprising a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to claim 1 disposed in the double hull.
 15. A method for loading or offloading a ship (70) according to claim 14, in which a cold liquid product is conveyed through insulated pipelines (73, 79, 76, 81) from or to a floating or onshore storage facility (77) to or from the tank (71) of the ship.
 16. System for transferring a cold liquid product, the system comprising a ship (70) according to claim 14, insulated pipelines (73, 79, 76, 81) arranged in such a way as to connect the tank (71) installed in the hull of the ship to a floating or onshore storage facility (77) and a pump for causing a cold liquid product to flow through the insulated pipelines from or to the floating or onshore storage facility to or from the tank of the ship.
 17. A ship (70) for transporting a cold liquid product, the ship comprising a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to claim 5 disposed in the double hull.
 18. A method for loading or offloading a ship (70) according to claim 17, in which a cold liquid product is conveyed through insulated pipelines (73, 79, 76, 81) from or to a floating or onshore storage facility (77) to or from the tank (71) of the ship.
 19. A ship (70) for transporting a cold liquid product, the ship comprising a double hull (72) and a tank (71) according to claim 7 disposed in the double hull.
 20. A method for loading or offloading a ship (70) according to claim 19, in which a cold liquid product is conveyed through insulated pipelines (73, 79, 76, 81) from or to a floating or onshore storage facility (77) to or from the tank (71) of the ship. 